Wise Quotes - PRAISE AS A WEAPON OF WARFARE!

Following on from a previous post, 'Praising The Lord At All Times'. I promised to do a detailed post on how King Jehoshaphat won the battle through Praise and Worship to God.....Let's go back to the scripture to recap.

II Chronicles 20: 18:23{MSG*}

18-19 Then Jehoshaphat knelt down, bowing with his face to the ground. All Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping God. The Levites (both Kohathites and Korahites) stood to their feet to praise God, the God of Israel; they praised at the top of their lungs!

20 They were up early in the morning, ready to march into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were leaving, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen Judah and Jerusalem! Listen to what I have to say! Believe firmly in God, your God, and your lives will be firm! Believe in your prophets and you’ll come out on top!”

21 After talking it over with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed a choir for God; dressed in holy robes, they were to march ahead of the troops, singing,

Give thanks to God,

His love never quits.

22-23 As soon as they started shouting and praising, God set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir as they were attacking Judah, and they all ended up dead. The Ammonites and Moabites mistakenly attacked those from Mount Seir and massacred them. Then, further confused, they went at each other, and all ended up killed.

24 As Judah came up over the rise, looking into the wilderness for the horde of barbarians, they looked on a killing field of dead bodies—not a living soul among them.

25-26 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to carry off the plunder they found more loot than they could carry off—equipment, clothing, valuables. It took three days to cart it away! On the fourth day they came together at the Valley of Blessing (Beracah) and blessed God (that’s how it got the name, Valley of Blessing).

27-28 Jehoshaphat then led all the men of Judah and Jerusalem back to Jerusalem—an exuberant parade. God had given them joyful relief from their enemies! They entered Jerusalem and came to The Temple of God with all the instruments of the band playing.

The story is told that King Jehoshaphat was there minding his own business when news came that a huge force of army had plotted to make war against him. And with no time to waste, these forces were already on their way.....Essshi! What will you do upon hearing such news? Panic of course and that is exactly how King Jehoshaphat felt. He panicked but in his panic he was very quick to recognise that only God can save them. His first response was to call for Prayer and Fasting.......His first weapon of warfare.

King Jehoshaphat prayed and reminded God of His previous Salvation as well as His Promises for His People. His second weapon of warfare was the Proclamation of The Word of God. During the prayers and fasting, the Spirit of God moved through a prophet named Jahaziel. He assured the King and the people of God's Word, which said that the war was of the Lords and they therefore need not be afraid.

His third weapon of warfare was Praise to God(verses 18-19), which will be looking at in more detail. The first thing i noticed here was that, King Jehoshaphat believed in God and trusted in His Word so he listened to Jahaziel and just worshiped and praised God.......I'm sure at this point he felt more relaxed with himself. There is power in PRAISE and in that place of Praise, VICTORY is always assured.

And our God who is ever faithful surely gave them the victory without them even raising an arm to fight. The God who can use the foolish things of this world to confide the wise set confusion amongst the people and they ended up killing themselves.....How awesome is that???

There are three things i will like you to note from this weapon of warfare - Praise. Just as King Jehoshaphat praised and worshiped God upon hearing The Word of God from the Prophet, we ought to praise the Lord even before any battle.

We ought to praise the Lord during the battle. Jehoshaphat challenged the people to get out and appointed singers who should sing to the Lord. And finally, after God gave them the victory, they gathered and praised the lord in The Valley of Beracah......We ought to praise the Lord after the battle has been won. In other words our praise and worship to God should never cease. He's such a wonderful and excellent God, who's ways are marvelous.

So the next time you're in church and you're told to give a shout of praise to God or worship Him, you make sure to join in because there is power in your joyful noise made unto the Lord. Have a blessed day praising Him.

#Inspired...ann  #WiseQuotes

*The Message Bible